Crane school prices are quoted as one number, which makes them hard to compare with anything. This breaks the whole bill into lines so you can see what you are actually choosing between.
The Subscription page shows the same comparison as a table, with our current price filled in.
There are two different things called "crane school"
A budget prep course teaches the written exam and nothing else — the same job this website does, in a classroom. Public listings for written-exam prep run from roughly $75 to $550, with fuller classroom courses around $500 to $1,000. Exam fees and seat time on a machine are on you, exactly as they are here.
A full prep-and-test program is dearer but bundles in the exam fees and the machine time. Public listings show about $1,000 for a three-day recertification program and about $2,000 for a five-day first-time program, both with exam fees included.
Those are not the same product, and comparing our price to the second one would be dishonest. The like-for-like comparison is the first.
The lines that are identical either way
The exam fees — $140 Core written, $80 specialty written, $70 practical — are the same whoever prepares you, because they are set by the certifying organization. A full program has not made them free, it has put them in its price. The current fees are on CCO's fee page.
The lines that are not
- Travel, lodging and meals. A one or two day local course might cost you nothing extra. Three to five days away from home is realistically several hundred dollars on top.
- Time off work. None of the figures above count the wages you lose sitting in a classroom. For a lot of operators this is the largest single number in the whole exercise.
- Seat time on a machine. Included in a full program, not included in a budget prep course, and not included here.
What you are actually deciding
If you need hours on a crane and you want the exam booking handled for you, a full program is buying you something real. If you already have seat time and what you need is to pass the written exam, you are choosing between a classroom prep course and doing the same preparation at home, at your own pace, for less — with the help still there if you have to retest.
Where we fit in. We are an independent training provider. We prepare you for the written examination and can walk you through the application and booking process. We do not write the exams, administer the written or practical exams, or issue certifications, and passing our courses is not certification. See our training and safety disclaimer.
Course prices are public listings checked September 2026; exam fees are the certifying organization's published fees effective January 2024. Prices vary by school and by area, and all of them can change. Checked September 2026. Fees and requirements are set by the certifying organization and can change — confirm the current ones with them before you apply.